Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie leaving Sarajevo Town Hall on 28 June 1914, five minutes before the
assassination.
The Good Soldier Švejk is a novel with an exceptionally rich array of characters. In addition to the many who directly form part of the
plot, numerous fictional and real people (and animals) are mentioned throughout the narrative, in Švejk's anecdotes,
or indirectly through words and expressions.
This web page contains brief write-ups on the people referenced in the novel, from Napoléon in the introduction to
Hauptmann Ságner in the final lines of the unfinished Part Four. The list is sorted according to the order in which the names first
appear. The chapter headings are taken from Zenny Sadlon's recent translation (1999-2024) and will, in most cases, differ
from Cecil Parrott's version from 1973.
The quotations in Czech are taken from the online version of The Good Soldier Švejk provided by Jaroslav Šerák and contain links to the relevant
chapter. The toolbar includes links for direct access to Wikipedia, Google Maps, Google Search, svejkmuseum.cz, and the novel online.
The names are colour-coded according to their role in the novel, as illustrated by the following examples:
Dr. Grünstein, a fictional character directly involved in the plot.
Fähnrich Dauerling, a fictional character who is not part of the plot.
Heinrich Heine, a historical person.
Note that many apparently fictional characters are inspired by real people. Examples include Oberleutnant Lukáš, Major Wenzl, and many
others. These are still listed as fictional because they are literary creations only partly inspired by their
similarly named 'models'.
Military ranks and other titles related to Austrian officialdom are given in German, in accordance with the terms
used at the time (explanations in English are provided as tooltips). This means that Captain Ságner is still
referred to as Hauptmann, although the term is now obsolete, having been replaced by Kapitän. Civilian titles
denoting profession, etc., are translated into English. This also applies to ranks in the nobility, at least where a
direct translation exists.
Krakonoš
is mentioned when the author describes Offiziersdiener Baloun, who, with his huge frame and long beard, resembles Krakonoš.
Background
Krakonoš
is a German/Czech/Polish folklore mountain spirit of the Krkonoše mountain range (Riesengebirge), subject of many legends in the region. Görlitz and Vysoké nad Jizerou both have museums dedicated to this figure. He also appeared in numerous books and operas from the 19th century. Later, he also became a theme for films.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Před ním stál účetní šikovatel Vaněk, který zde sestavoval listiny k výplatě žoldu, vedl účty kuchyně pro mužstvo, byl finančním ministrem celé roty a trávil tu celý boží den, zde též spal. U dveří stál tlustý pěšák, zarostlý vousy jako Krakonoš. To byl Baloun, nový sluha nadporučíka, v civilu mlynář někde u Českého Krumlova.
Baloun is mentioned 191 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Baloun
becomes the new officer's servant for Oberleutnant Lukáš when Oberst Schröder promotes Švejk to messenger of 11. Marschkompanie. He is part of the story for the whole journey from Királyhida to the front, and appears regularly from then on. He is a huge man, incredibly gluttonous, and all he can think about is food. Apart from this, he is portrayed as rather simple-minded. By profession, he is a miller, is married with three children, and he often gobbled up the food meant for his family. Baloun is from the area around Krumlov.
He had also been on a pilgrimage to Klokoty, a considerable distance to walk from Krumlov (approx. 85 km), particularly with a wife and three children.
Background
Baloun has no clearly identifiable model from real life, but at least his gluttony may have been derived from the author himself, who at the time when he wrote this part of the novel put on a lot of weight. Jaroslav Hašek was known as a gourmet, something which is reflected in the many descriptions of food throughout the novel. According to Josef Lada, he was also a very good cook.
There are several people with the name Baloun that the author might have met during his life, and could at least have lent their name (and even some personal traits) to the gluttonous miller from Krumlovsko.
Baloun is quite a common surname, and is particularly frequent in Humpolecko[b]. This was an area that Hašek knew well when he wrote this part of The Good Soldier Švejk in 1922. At the time, he lived at Lipnice, only 11 km away.
Head doctor Baloun
One of them was František Baloun, regimental doctor at Infanterieregiment Nr. 91. He is listed in the regiment's ranks in 1914, 1916 and 1917, so would most likely also have served IR. 91 also in 1915. It has, however, not been established whether he served with the regiment at the same time as Hašek. At the outbreak of war, he was associated with the detached 1st battalion in Dalmatia, and if this was the case also in 1915, the two probably never met.
The young one-year volunteer
A more obvious candidate is one-year volunteer JaroslavBaloun who was transferred from IR73 to IR. 91, 2. Ersatzkompanie on 1 April 1915, during the same time Jaroslav Hašek served at Ersatzbataillon IR. 91. It is very likely that the author knew about this Baloun as both were garrisoned in Budějovice. Baloun was in the spring of 1915 promoted to Kadett and fought with the regiment at Sokal, where he was wounded on 27 June 1915.
That said, it was probably only the name that served as an inspiration. The one-year volunteer was tall for the time (176 cm) but not a miller. He was born in Německý Brod (since 1945 Havlíčkův Brod) and as a 22-year-old in 1915, he surely didn't have three children.
The miller by Netolice
A certain Jindřich Baloun ran a mill by Netolice around 1930[a]. Hypothetically, Jaroslav Hašek may have met him during a four-day "escape" from Budějovice in 1915, when he according to Radko Pytlík visited the area.
Hotel Neptun
Another possible link between Jaroslav Hašek and some Baloun is Hotel Neptun where the author lived for a few weeks after his return to Prague from Russia19 December 1920. A certain Josef Baloun managed this hotel in 1924, and may have done so also in 1921.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] U dveří stál tlustý pěšák, zarostlý vousy jako Krakonoš. To byl Baloun, nový sluha nadporučíka, v civilu mlynář někde u Českého Krumlova. „Vybral jste mně opravdu znamenitého pucfleka,“ mluvil nadporučík Lukáš k účetnímu šikovateli, „děkuji vám srdečné za to milé překvapení. První den si ho pošlu pro oběd do oficírsmináže, a on mně ho půl sežere.“
Seemingly, only a single Weidenhofer is recorded in Verlustliste throughout the war. That someone carrying this surname would have served with Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 together with Hašek is thus practically ruled out. In modern Czechia, the name is not found at all[a].
A renegade politician
One person that Hašek almost certainly was aware of was the German-National politician Emanuel Weidenhoffer (1874-1939). The name was also spelt Weidenhofer and often appeared in newspaper columns, particularly during the years 1907-1911 when he was a deputy in Reichsrat. Weidenhofer's anti-Czech attitudes were well known and Venkov, České Slovo and some others labelled him a "renegade". Several of these papers claimed that he was born into a Czech family, and correctly so[b]. Weidenhofer was born in Napajedla in Moravia and in the church records he is entered as Emanuel František Jaroslav Karel Weidenhoffer[d].
In Prague II.
In Prague, three Weidenhofer/Weidenhöfer were entered in the residence register and all in an area in Nové město that Hašek frequented[c]. Obviously, this is too little to draw any conclusion, but it cannot be ruled out that Hašek borrowed the name from one of them.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] "Sie Rechnungsfeldwebl,“ obrátil se na Vaňka, „odveďte ho ke kaprálovi Weidenhoferovi, ať ho pěkně uváže na dvoře u kuchyně na dvě hodiny, až budou dnes večer rozdávat guláš. Ať ho uváže pěkně vysoko, aby jen tak se držel na špičkách a viděl, jak se v kotli ten guláš vaří.
Edvard Hegner was a person that Hašek almost certainly knew.
Density of the surname Hegner today.
Forebears.io,2012 - 2022
Hegner is mentioned 3 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Hegner
was a staff sergeant who had served with Hauptmann Ságner in Serbia at the beginning of the war and had told Rechnungsfeldwebel Vaněk how incompetently Ságner had acted at the border with Montenegro. Vaněk now relates this to Oberleutnant Lukáš just as the latter learns that Ságner has been promoted to battalion commander ahead of him.
Background
As with Korporal Weidenhofer, this is surely also a surname that Hašek more or less picked at random. In Schematismus, no one with this name is listed after 1862[a] and no Hegner has been identified as associated with Infanterieregiment Nr. 91. In Czechia, around 88 are resident today[b], but none from the recruitment district of IR. 91. Worldwide, almost 3,800 bear the surname Hegner. The name is most common in Switzerland and Germany.
Editor Hegner
Still, a person existed who Hašek may have borrowed the name from. In Vinohrady lived an editor Edvard Hegner (1876-1929), and the writer and journalist Hašek was surely aware of him and most probably also knew him. Hegner wrote satires, other prose, and theatre plays and contributed to several of the publications that Jaroslav Hašek also wrote for. Whether Hašek actually had Hegner in mind when he wrote this sequence of The Good Soldier Švejk is impossible to know, but in such a case it could only have been "name-borrowing". Hašek often borrowed names and assigned them to one of his literary creations who might have little or nothing to do with the real-life person who bore the name. Prime examples are Břetislav Ludvík and not least Švejk himself.
[II.5] „A víte, pane obrlajtnant,“ řekl, důvěrně mrkaje, „že se má stát pan hejtman Ságner batalionskomandantem našeho maršbatalionu? Napřed, jak říkal štábsfeldvébl Hegner, se myslelo, že vy budete, poněvadž jste nejstarší důstojník u nás, batalionskomandantem, a potom prý přišlo od divise na brigádu, že je jmenován pan hejtman Ságner.“
[II.5] „Já z toho nemám moc velkou radost,“ důvěrně se ozval účetní šikovatel, „vypravoval štábsfeldvébl Hegner, že pan hejtman Ságner v Srbsku na počátku války chtěl někde u Černé Hory v horách se vyznamenat a hnal jednu kumpačku svého baťáčku za druhou na mašíngevéry do srbských štelungů, ačkoliv to byla úplně zbytečná věc a infanterie tam byla starýho kozla co platná, poněvadž Srby odtamtud s těch skal mohla dostat jen artilerie.
[II.5] Vypravoval nedávno štábsfeldvébl Hegner, že příliš neladíte s panem hejtmanem Ságnerem a že on právě pošle naši 11. kumpačku první do gefechtu na ta nejhroznější místa.
Kokoška is mentioned 5 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Kokoška
owned a chemist's shop in Na Perštýně when Švejk was an apprentice there. This information is revealed when Švejk tells Rechnungsfeldwebel Vaněk about his experiences in this profession. Švejk accidentally set fire to a barrel of petrol, which led to his dismissal. He also learnt how to prepare cow fodder, which is the main theme of the anecdote.
This Kokoška is not the same as Kokoška1 at the start of the novel, who collects dog turds (although the names of both men undoubtedly have the same origin).
Background
Kokoška
was the proprietor of drogerie Kokoška at the corner of Na Perštýně and Martinská ulice, where Hašek briefly worked as an apprentice in 1898. It has been verified that the pharmacy existed from 1890 until 1906 (Kokoška died that year). A picture of the shop from 1905 shows the name in the German version Kokoschka, a name used in most advertisements and address books. Otherwise, population registers reveal that Kokoška was born in Prague, was married to Anna (born Milnerová), and that the couple had one daughter, also called Anna.
Police registers show that Kokoška was part owner of the company Ott. This is surely due to the fact that his mother-in-law was Kateřina Ott, and he may have inherited the part or it may even have been a marriage endowment. The firm Ott manufactured chemicals, poisonous substances, and other items associated with chemists.
Kokoška is pivotal in the stories From the Old Pharmacy, where he is half-heartedly renamed Kološka. He is described as a very short elderly man with a large moustache[a]. Václav Menger provides additional information in his book Jaroslav Hašek doma (1935) and in a series of articles in 1933. According to Menger, the 15-year-old Hašek was dismissed after having painted a beard and glasses on an Alpine cow to make it resemble the boss[b].
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] „Já jsem se taky učil materialistou,“ řekl Švejk, „u nějakýho pana Kokošky na Perštýně v Praze. To byl náramnej podivín, a když jsem mu jednou vomylem ve sklepě zapálil sud benzinu a von vyhořel, tak mne vyhnal a gremium mne už nikde nepřijalo, takže jsem se kvůli pitomýmu sudu benzinu nemoh doučit. Vyrábíte také koření pro krávy?“
[II.5] „U nás se vyrábělo koření pro krávy se svěcenými obrázky. Von byl náš pan šéf Kokoška náramně nábožnej člověk a dočetl se jednou, že svatej Pelegrinus pomáhal při nafouknutí dobytka.
[II.5] Tak si večer zavolal náš starej Kokoška pana Tauchena a řek mu, aby do rána sestavil nějakou modlitbičku na ten obrázek a na to koření, až přijde v deset hodin do krámu, že už to musí bejt hotový, aby to šlo do tiskárny, že už krávy čekají na tu modlitbičku.
[II.5] Potom, když přišel pan Kokoška, pan Tauchen šel s ním do komptoiru, a když vyšel ven, ukazoval nám dva zlatníky, ne jeden, jak měl slíbeno, a chtěl se s panem Ferdinandem rozdělit napolovic.
Saint Peregrinus is mentioned 8 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Saint Peregrinus
had his name invoked by Mr. Kokoška when sanctifying the herbs for bloated cows, as revealed when Švejk tells Rechnungsfeldwebel Vaněk about his time as a chemist's apprentice.
Background
Saint Peregrinus
may be one of seven different saints with the name Pelegrinus or Peregrinus[a], mostly martyrs from early Christianity. Břetislav Hůla concludes that Švejk refers to a martyr who was beatified on 27 April[c].
Another claim is that the saint in question is Peregrine Laziosi, the patron saint of pregnant women and women giving birth[b].
Inconclusive
Whichever Peregrinus one prefers: none of the seven candidates appear to have any connection to cattle or other livestock. Nor does the date 27 April provide further clues. Laziosi, however, is more famous than the rest and would thus be the "best guess".
Antonín Měšťan
... während der Hl. Peregrinus (Pellegrin) in Wirklichkeit für die katolische Kirche der Patron der Gebärenden, der Wöchnerinnen und der Lohnkutscher ist.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] „U nás se vyrábělo koření pro krávy se svěcenými obrázky. Von byl náš pan šéf Kokoška náramně nábožnej člověk a dočetl se jednou, že svatej Pelegrinus pomáhal při nafouknutí dobytka.
Tauchen is mentioned 8 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Tauchen
is mentioned when Švejk tells Rechnungsfeldwebel Vaněk about his time as a chemist's apprentice. Tauchen was a shop assistant at drogerie Kokoška, who was given the task of writing religious poems to accompany the cow herbs. He was unable to do so, so his colleague Ferdinand had to help him.
Note: Not to be confused with TauchenP, who had a similar position at the the firm Polák.
Background
The author's apprenticeship at drogerie Kokoška in 1898 and/or 1899 inspired a series of eight stories that were published in Veselá Praha[a]. Tauchen appears here, but with his name slightly altered, though still easily recognisable (Tauben). It is almost certain that someone named Tauchen (or with a similar name) worked for Kokoška, but his identity has not been established to this day.
Menger
In two newspaper articles[b][c], Václav Menger provides extensive details about Hašek's time as an apprentice at drogerie Kokoška, based partly on what Hašek himself had told him, but he also consulted other people who had worked at the chemist's. Menger reveals that the names of the participants in the stories were still alive, so Hašek altered their names. Tauben is thus not the real name of the person that Hašek made fun of in the stories. "Tauben" was, like Hašek, an apprentice, but older than the budding author. In the beginning, the two got on well, but after the latter had the story Žere taký citrony? (Does he also eat lemons?) published in Národní listy, Tauben became jealous and started to treat his younger colleague with contempt. Hašek took revenge by starting a rumour that eventually caused Tauben to quit his job. Otherwise, Menger informs that Tauben lived in Vyšehrad and liked to boast about his parents' high social status.
There is ample reason to be sceptical of Václav Menger's account, particularly because Hašek himself is his main source. Thus, one must expect some exaggeration or even inventions. That Hašek had stories published as early as 1898 or 1899 also seems improbable and has never been verified. The story Žere taký citrony? has never been identified, and Jaroslav Šerák rightly suggests that Menger refers to the story Citrony, which was published as late as 1904[d].
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] A potom jsme je přikládali do balíčků toho našeho koření pro krávy. Krávě se to koření namíchalo do teplý vody, dalo se jí napít z dřezu a přitom se dobytku předčítala modlitbička k sv. Pelegrinovi, kterou složil pan Tauchen, náš příručí. To když byly ty obrázky sv. Pelegrina vytištěny, tak ještě na druhou stranu bylo potřeba natisknout nějakou modlitbičku.
Ferdinand is mentioned 6 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Ferdinand
was, like Mr. Tauchen, a servant at drogerie Kokoška, and had to help Tauchen write poems to go with the cow herbs. This led to a dispute about the authorship, but Švejk never managed to finish the story as Rechnungsfeldwebel Vaněk was interrupted by a phone call.
Background
This anecdote almost certainly has its background in Hašek's own time as an apprentice at drogerie Kokoška in 1898 and/or 1899. According to Václav Menger, one of the employees at the shop was a certain Ferdinand Vávra[a], who may well have been the inspiration for the character Švejk expounds upon.
Hašek himself mentions a servant named Ferdinand who worked there. At the relevant time, he was around 40 years old, lived in Michle, and had a richly decorated cart that he was very proud of. In addition, he had a certain fondness for drink, both beer and stronger spirits[b].
Ze staré drogerie
Panu Ferdinandovi bylo v té době kolem čtyřiceti let. Měl vysoké čelo, svědčící o neobyčejně vyvinutém intelektu, což mně potvrdil pan Tauben slovy: „To je mazaný chlap.“ Měl dobrácké šedé oči, hnědé vlasy a trochu černější knírky pod nosem a ze všeho toho bil do očí na prvním místě jeho červený nos, který byl neklamným znamením, že pan Ferdinand byl kdysi sluhou v obchodě s lihovinami.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Dokonce zapomněl, jak se ten svatej do toho koření pro krávy jmenuje. Tak ho vytrh z bídy náš sluha Ferdinand. Ten uměl všechno. Když jsme sušili na půdě heřmánkový thé, tak si tam vždycky vlez, zul si boty a naučil nás, že se přestanou nohy potit.
[II.5] A než jsem pivo přines, tak už náš sluha Ferdinand byl s tím napolovic hotov a už předčítal:...
[II.5] Potom, když přišel pan Kokoška, pan Tauchen šel s ním do komptoiru, a když vyšel ven, ukazoval nám dva zlatníky, ne jeden, jak měl slíbeno, a chtěl se s panem Ferdinandem rozdělit napolovic. Ale sluhu Ferdinanda, když viděl ty dva zlatníky, chyt najednou mamon. Že prej ne, buď všechno, anebo nic. Tak tedy pan Tauchen mu nedal nic a nechal si ty dvě zlatky pro sebe, vzal mě vedle do magacínu, dal mně pohlavek a řek, že dostanu takových pohlavků sto, když se někde vopovážím říct, že on to nesestavoval a nespisoval, i kdyby si šel Ferdinand stěžovat k našemu starýmu, že musím říct, že sluha Ferdinand je lhář. Musel jsem mu to vodpřísáhnout před nějakým plucarem s estragonovým voctem.
Braun
was the messenger of 12. Marschkompanie. Švejk had an unproductive phone conversation with him during his first assignment as messenger of 11. Marschkompanie.
Background
Braun was and is a common surname[a], and several people with this name served with Hašek in Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 in 1915. However, it has not been established whether any of them were messengers. The Verlustliste reveals that Heinrich Braun was reported missing together with Jaroslav Hašek at Khorupan[b], so this is a person that Hašek may have encountered. Braun was from Prachatice, but it is not known which company he served with.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] „Vaněk? Ten šel do regimentskanceláře. Kdo je u telefonu? Ordonanc od 11. marškumpanie. Kdo je tam? Ordonanc od 12. maršky? Servus, kolego. Jak se jmenuji? Švejk. A ty? Braun. Nemáš příbuznýho nějakýho Brauna v Pobřežní třídě v Karlíně, kloboučníka? Že nemáš, že ho neznáš...
Braun
was a hatter from Pobřežní třída in Karlín, mentioned in the conversation between BraunO and Švejk. The latter had once travelled past and noticed the shop's sign.
Background
Braun was and is a common surname, and 89 people with this name live in Prague today[a]. At Hašek's time, the number was probably even higher, as the city had many German-speaking inhabitants until 1945.
Still, not a single hatter named Braun is found in the address books of Prague from 1907, nor were any hatters listed at Pobřežní třída. The closest was Petr Brabec in neighbouring Královská třída[b].
Švejk had noticed the shop from the tram, but there was no tram line along Pobřežní třída in 1910. There was, however, one line crossing between number 8 and number 10. It is much more likely that Švejk had Královská třída in mind. This street had a tram line running along it and, unlike Pobřežní, it hosted at least two hatters.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] „Vaněk? Ten šel do regimentskanceláře. Kdo je u telefonu? Ordonanc od 11. marškumpanie. Kdo je tam? Ordonanc od 12. maršky? Servus, kolego. Jak se jmenuji? Švejk. A ty? Braun. Nemáš příbuznýho nějakýho Brauna v Pobřežní třídě v Karlíně, kloboučníka? Že nemáš, že ho neznáš... Já ho taky neznám, já jsem jen jednou jel kolem elektrikou, tak mně ta firma padla do voka.
Franta
(František or Franz) is spoken to by Braun in 12. Marschkompanie in a conversation that Švejk, the newly appointed messenger of 11. Marschkompanie, overhears on the telephone.
Background
Judging from the plot, Franta served with the staff of 12. Marschkompanie. Still, to look for a "model" from real life would be a futile undertaking. František/Franz was a widespread name and, with no mention of any surname, we are left in the dark.
The episode may still have some connection to Hašek's personal experiences, as he served with Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 as a messenger at the front in 1915. Whether he held this position while still with XII. Marschbataillon in Királyhida or on the way to the battlefield is not known.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] „Ty pitomče, copak tě sežeru. (Je slyšet, jak muž u telefonu mluví vedle: „Vem si, Franto, druhý sluchátko, abys viděl, jakou tam mají u 11. maršky blbou ordonanc.“)
Zugsführer in the 10th and 11th company in late July 1915.
Fuchs is mentioned 17 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Fuchs
was a Zugsführer whom Oberleutnant Lukáš ordered to fetch tins from the stores. It was Švejk who conveyed the order. The tins turned out to be imaginary, as was much else in the k.u.k. Heer.
Background
Finding a real-life model for this person is nearly impossible, as Fuchs is a very common Czech surname [a] and would have been even more widespread in 1915, considering the large German-speaking population of the Czech lands.
In the Verlustliste for Infanterieregiment Nr. 91, 68 names appear, and two were Zugsführer. On the same day that Hašek was taken prisoner, five Fuchs were listed [b], and Hašek may have known some of them.
One should not read too much into Hašek's choice of names. These were often random and sometimes invented.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5]Četař Fuchs byl tak překvapen, že vypravil ze sebe jen: „Cože?“ „Žádný ,cože’,“ odpověděl Švejk, „já jsem ordonanc jedenáctý marškumpanie a právě před chvílí jsem mluvil po telefonu s panem obrlajtnantem Lukášem. A ten řek: ,Laufšrit s deseti muži k magacínu.’ Jestli nepůjdete, pane cuksfíra Fuchse, tak ihned jdu nazpátek k telefonu. Pan obrlajtnant si výhradně přeje, aby vy jste šel. Je to zbytečný vůbec vo tom mluvit. ,Telefonní rozhovor,’ říká pan nadporučík Lukáš, ,musí bejt krátký, jasný.
[II.5] Potom s ním mluvil po telefonu četař Fuchs, který po celou tu dobu čekal nejen s deseti muži nejen marně na účetního šikovatele, ale dokonce shledal, že je skladiště zavřeno.
Blažek is mentioned 5 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Blažek
is a short Korporal who just manages to get a word in after Švejk has given Zugsführer Fuchs orders to draw a supply of tins from stores in Királyhida. He is mentioned a few more times in the following sequence.
Background
Blažek is a common surname[a], but it has not been possible to identify anyone within Hašek's circle of acquaintances who carried this name. In the Verlustliste for Infanterieregiment Nr. 91, there are sixteen Blažek listed and at least one served with Hašek in 1915. This person was Josef Blažek from Hroznějovice, okresTýn nad Vltavou. He was killed during the battle by Khorupan on 24 September 1915, the very day that Hašek was captured[b]. He was, however, not a Korporal, and whether Hašek knew him or not is impossible to ascertain.
A murdered corporal
Ohlasy českého jihu,20.3.1901
One possible but speculative link to real events is a tragic incident that happened in 1901. KorporalEmanuel Blažek from Infanterieregiment Nr. 75 was shot dead in the barracks in Třeboň on 11 March 1901. The killer was 23-year-old Jan Řehoř, a repeat offender. He was sentenced to death and executed by hanging on 2 October 1901 in the courtyard of Mariánská kasárna. The executioner was Wohlschlager, who was paid expenses and 25 guilders for the job[c]. Also present was a battalion from Infanterieregiment Nr. 91. Given the location of the execution, one must assume that Hašek had heard of the case, but to draw any closer ties would be far-fetched.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] „Hned budu s deseti maníkama u magacínu,“ ozval se od baráku četař Fuchs, a Švejk nepromluviv již ani slova odcházel ze skupiny šarží, které byly stejně překvapeny jako četař Fuchs. „Už to začíná,“ řekl malý desátník Blažek, „budeme pakovat.“
[II.5] "V kanceláři u regimentu byl a někam odešel. Myslím, že bude asi v kantýně. Jděte tedy, Švejku, za ním a řekněte mu, aby hned šel do magacínu. Potom ještě něco. Najděte hned kaprála Blažka a řekněte mu, aby hned odvázal toho Balouna, a Balouna pošlete ke mně. Pověste sluchátko!" Švejk se opravdu začal starat. Když našel desátníka Blažka a sdělil mu rozkaz nadporučíkův týkající se odvázání Balouna, zabručel kaprál Blažek: "Mají strach, když jim teče do bot."
[II.5] „Já jsem korporál,“ ozval se malý korporál Blažek, „a já taky.“
Přenosil
was a handsome lieutenant that Rechnungsfeldwebel Vaněk told Švejk about. He was the commander of a march company that Vaněk had travelled to the front with. Přenosil told his men that there was no reason to hurry.
Background
Přenosil is a relatively common surname, particularly in Bohemia[a]. Still, there is no indication that anyone with this name was a lieutenant in Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 or anywhere else in 1915. For the entire k.u.k. Wehrmacht, only two Přenosil are listed in Schematismus over the years, with the latest entry from 1907.
As with Korporal Blažek, there is a remote possibility that Hašek borrowed the name from a murder case, but here the hypothesis is even weaker. In 1888, the brothers August and Karel Přenosil were sentenced to death and executed after murdering a gendarme in Kutná Hora[b].
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Ale u nás byl kumpaniekomandantem lajtnant Přenosil, velký fešák, a ten nám řek: ,Nespěchejte, hoši,’ a šlo to jako na másle. Dvě hodiny před odjezdem vlaku jsme teprve začli pakovat. Uděláte dobře, když se taky posadíte...“
Lucie
is mentioned in the drunken ramblings of the unnamed staff sergeant who received a bribe from a farmer from Pardubice. Švejk and Rechnungsfeldwebel Vaněk witnessed the woolly utterances.
Background
The utterances of the drunk sergeant may well have been borrowed from some literary source. Still, without pinpointing the source, further investigation is futile.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Ten se udělal úplně pro sebe a blábolil, hladě čtvrtku vína, prapodivné věci beze vší souvislosti česky i německy: „Mnohokrát prošel jsem touto vesnicí a neměl jsem ani potuchy o tom, že je na světě. In einem halben Jahre habe ich meine Staatsprüfung hinter mir und meinen Doktor gemacht. Stal se ze mne starý mrzák, děkuji vám, Lucie. Erscheinen sie in schön ausgestatteten Bänden - snad je tu někdo mezi vámi, jenž se na to pamatuje.“
Jurajda is mentioned 44 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Jurajda
is a chef in the Offiziersmenage in Brucker Lager, later in Švejk's march company. In the plot, he features regularly during the journey from Bruck-Királyhida to the front and takes part in the final passages of The Good Soldier Švejk in Klimontów.
Before the war, Jurajda edited an occultist magazine and a book series called Záhady života a smrti (Mysteries of Life and Death). He regularly contributes reflections on karma, transmigration of souls, and other questions of existential and philosophical significance.
He is also an excellent chef and very popular among the officers. Nevertheless, Oberst Schröder sends him to the front because he had a mishap when preparing the meal for the officers' farewell party in Királyhida.
From the start, he offers nebulous quotes such as: "A formation is a nonbeing and a nonbeing is a formation. A nonbeing is not different from a formation, a formation is not different from a nonbeing. That which is a nonbeing is a formation, that which is a formation is a nonbeing."
Background
Jurajda is an example of Hašek's reuse of names.
Humoristické listy,18.6.1909
No obvious "model" for Švejk's company cook has been identified. There is no Jurajda in the records of Infanterieregiment Nr. 91, whether in the Verlustliste, other army papers, or the recollections of Hašek's contemporaries. The cook in Hašek's 11. Kompanie in 1915 was Perníček. It should also be noted that the surname Jurajda is extremely rare in the recruitment district of IR91 [d], and this was surely the case in 1915. The name Jurajda is rather reused from a couple of stories Hašek wrote before the war [g][h].
Kamil Jurajda
Augustin Knesl, Večerní Praha, 1983
Augustin Knesl states that Hašek knew a certain Kamil Jurajda from Rožnov pod Radhoštěm in Moravia and claims that this person is the model for the occultist cook[e]. Jurajda was born in 1883 and graduated as an agronomist at the technical college at Karlovo náměstí. Hašek knew many students from this institution, and Knesl concluded that the author of The Good Soldier Švejk borrowed names for several of his literary characters from his circle of acquaintances here. Knesl claims that Jurajda was very religious and also an occultist, but considering Knesl's tendency to interpret fiction from The Good Soldier Švejk as fact, there is good reason to be sceptical of this claim. Still, there is no doubt that Kamil Jurajda was born in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm in 1883[f]. From autumn 1912, he lived in Vinohrady. During World War I, Jurajda served as Leutnant with k.k. Landsturm in the hinterland and obviously had no connection to Infanterieregiment Nr. 91. Jaroslav Šerák also points out that the stories Hašek wrote about Jurajda in 1908 and 1909 were written before Kamil Jurajda moved to Vinohrady.
The occultist Adamíra
Kulturní adresář ČSR, 1934-1936
A more likely inspiration for Jurajda is Josef Alois Adamíra (1877-1953), a chemist who was employed at the laboratory of Zemědelská rada (The Agricultural Council)[b]. This is important in the context of The Good Soldier Švejk because he was a prominent occultist [c]. Jaroslav Hašek lived in Adamíra's house in Havlíčkova třída in Vinohrady for a period from 29 July 1912[a], and it is easy to imagine that Hašek picked up knowledge about occultism from him and later used it when creating the Jurajda character.
About life and death
Rudolf Maria Hynek,1922
At the time The Good Soldier Švejk was written, a booklet called The Mystery of Life and Death was actually published[i]. It was the first in a series called Psycha, with the subtitle Knihovna duchovních otázek doby (Spiritual Questions of the Day Series). The booklets were published by Sfinx in Vinohrady and printed in Kralupy. Taking this into account, it is possible that Hašek came across the booklet and assigned its title to his literary creation Jurajda.
That same year, three more booklets in the series were published, and one should take particular note of no. 3. This was Okultismus by Miloš Maixner[j].
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Účetní šikovatel z dlouhé chvíle bubnoval si nějaký pochod, ale nemusel se dlouho nudit, neboť otevřely se dveře a vstoupil kuchař z důstojnické minážeJurajda a přilepil se na jednu židli.
[II.5]Kuchař Jurajda se dal do filosofování, což fakticky odpovídalo jeho bývalému zaměstnání. Vydával totiž do vojny okultistický časopis a knihovnu „Záhady života a smrti“. Na vojně ulil se k důstojnické kuchyni regimentu a velice často připálil nějakou pečeni, když se zabral do čtení překladů staroindických suter Pragnâ-Paramitâ (Zjevená moudrost). Plukovník Schröder měl ho rád jako zvláštnost u regimentu, neboť která důstojnická kuchyně mohla se pochlubit kuchařem okultistou, který nazíraje do záhad života a smrti, překvapil všechny takovou dobrou svíčkovou nebo s takovým ragout, že pod Komárovem smrtelně raněný poručík Dufek volal stále po Jurajdovi.
[II.5] „Je nebytelnost všech zjevů, tvarů a věcí“, řekl po tomto činu zasmušile kuchař okultista. „Útvar je nebytelnost a nebytelnost je útvar. Nebytelnost není rozdílna od útvaru, útvar není rozdílný od nebytelnosti. Co je nebytelnost, to je útvar, co je útvar, to je nebytelnost.“
In Prague the surnames Dufek and Duffek were rare.
Dufek
was a lieutenant who was mortally wounded in the battle below Komarów and called out for cook Jurajda at the moment he passed into the next existence.
Background
Dufek is a common Czech surname[b], so Hašek could have met several people with this name and indeed used it in one of his prewar stories[a], where Dufek is an accountant.
In 1914, a reserve LeutnantCarl Dufek served with Infanterieregiment Nr. 57, a unit recruited from the Tarnów district[c]. The only other officer named Dufek in k.u.k. Heer was Alois, a military doctor in Feldjägerbataillon Nr. 30 from Styria. Much more frequent was Duffek, the Germanised version of the surname. Among them were reserve lieutenants Ladislav Duffek from Infanterieregiment Nr. 9 (recruitment district Stryj), Joseph Duffek from Infanterieregiment Nr. 14 (recruitment district Linz), and dr. Otto Duffek from 4. Regiment der Tiroler Kaiserjäger. In k.k. Landwehr there were also a few Duffeks, but none of them are obvious inspirations for the literary figure.
Importantly, cook Jurajda's lieutenant could not have served with Infanterieregiment Nr. 91. The regiment did not take part in the battle of Komarów at the end of August 1914, as it was fighting against Serbia at the time. That said, Jurajda may have served with another unit and later transferred to IR91. Still, it was rare for rank-and-file soldiers to change units. A notable exception was the officer's servants, who usually followed their masters. However, there is no indication in The Good Soldier Švejk that Jurajda ever had such a role.
Thus, one suspects that Dufek is a name that Hašek picked at random, and the fact that he had already used it in one of his pre-war short stories supports this assumption.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Plukovník Schröder měl ho rád jako zvláštnost u regimentu, neboť která důstojnická kuchyně mohla se pochlubit kuchařem okultistou, který nazíraje do záhad života a smrti, překvapil všechny takovou dobrou svíčkovou nebo s takovým ragout, že pod Komárovem smrtelně raněný poručík Dufek volal stále po Jurajdovi.
Kramář
(in the Germanised variation Kramarsch) is mentioned in Oberst Schröder's ruminations about the lack of loyalty among Czech soldiers. This happened as the officers were having a Besprechung over the imminent transfer of the march battalion to the front.
Background
Kramář
was a prominent Czech politician, born into a wealthy family from Bohemia. He studied law in Prague, Strasbourg, and Berlin. He became involved in politics very early and was a longtime leader of Mladočeši (The Young Czechs). Kramář was a pan-Slavist and before World War I campaigned actively for Czech state rights, but within the House of Habsburg monarchy. At the time, he argued for Austria-Hungary to abandon the alliance with Germany and align with Russia instead, aiming to strengthen the position of the Slav nations within the empire. The outbreak of war made him turn openly against the Dual Monarchy, and he decided to work for full independence.
During the war
Národní listy,4.8.1914
Kramář immediately made his opinions clear in an editorial in Národní listy, describing the ongoing war as a conflict between "Germandom" and "Slavdom". He also predicted that after the war the map of Europe would be unrecognizeable[g]. In the new year a similar editorial appeared[h] and during Easter 1915 he published an emotional article titled "Resurrection"[i]. In the latter two editorials the sensor intervened and removed some presumably inflammatory content. These three articles in Národní listy were later used as evidence against him in the upcoming high treason trial.
Národní listy,15.3.1930
Kramář was arrested on 21 May 1915 together with the Sokol leader Josef Scheiner. As with the case of Klofáč, it was state Police Inspector Slavíček who carried out the arrest but the order was given by Archduke Friedrich.
Trusting his parliamentary immunity, Kramář was ill-prepared and was caught red-handed with a copy of La Nation Tchèque, the newspaper of the Czech National Council in Paris. He and Scheiner were brought to Militärgefängnis (the military prison) at Hradčany before being transported to Vienna for prosecution[b].
The three co-accused to be recommened for pardon, but Kramář not.
Karel Kramář,1930
The protracted trial, often called the Kramář process, started at Landwehrdivisionsgericht in Vienna on 6 December 1915. Karel Kramář, Alois Rašín, Vincenc Červinka and Josef Zamazal were on 3 June 1916 convicted and sentenced to death by hanging. The first two were convicted for high treason, the latter two for espionage[c]. An appeal was launched, claiming Nichtigkeitsbeschwerde (procedural errors) but the verdict was upheld on 20 November 1916, making it legally binding[d]. The sentence included a note that recommended the emperor pardoned Rašín, Červenka and Zamazal but not Kramář![k]. It is therefore possible that the death of Emperor Franz Joseph I saved his life.
The death sentences converted to prison terms.
Fremden-Blatt,5.1.1917
On 5 December, Kramář appealed to the Emperor for clemency[e] and on the 22nd the sentence was converted to 15 years imprisonment for Kramář, 10 years for Rašín, and 6 years for Červenka and Zamazal[f].
Emperor Franz Joseph I died on 21 November, one day after the verdict became final, so it was his successor Karl I who overturned the death sentences. Subsequently, all the four convicted were pardoned after the Emperor on 2 July 1917 issued a general amnesty to political prisoners. On the 11th they were released. Kramář also got his doctor title back but lost his place in Reichsrat (but not the right to be elected in the future).
Czechoslovakia
Obituary
Národní listy,26.5.1937
After the war, on 14 November 1918, Kramář became the first prime minister of Czechoslovakia. On 8 January 1919 he survived an assassination attempt at Hradčany. In 1919 he led the Czechoslovak delegation at the Paris peace conference. Controversally, he wanted the Czechoslovak Army to intervene in the Russian Civil War, putting him at odds with foreign secretary Beneš and president Professor Masaryk. In the summer he stepped down due to his party's failures in the local election. He remained a member of the Czechoslovak National Assembly until his death 1937 but his political influence vained. In 1921 he published a volumous book titled The Russian Crisis and in 1926 a short one about Slav politics, in effect at reaction to the article "Problems of Slav Politics" by foreign secretary Beneš. Kramář was afforded a state funeral.
Personal life
Kramář was a wealthy man. Being the co-owner of some factories, he owned sumptuous villas in Prague, in his birthplace Vysoké nad Jizerou and on the Krim peninsula. His wife Naděžda Nikolajevna (1862-1936) was Russian, the couple had no children.
Hašek and Kramář
Kopřivy,4.7.1912
In The Good Soldier Švejk Kramář is mentioned only in passing but features in many of Hašek's short stores. Two of the story are dedicated exclusively to Kramář. In the first Hašek makes fun of Kramář's so-called "positivist policy" of co-operation with Vienna, his interest in money, and his frequent trips to Krim[j]. Otherwise the story contains some factual correct information and it reveals that Hašek was well informed about his "victim's" undertakings.
Writing communist propaganda in Russia in February 1919, Hašek again latched out at Kramář, foreseeing an armed uprising of the Czechoslovak proletariate against the government of the "well-known bourgeoise Slavophile doctor Kramář".
Even after Hašek returned from Russia in December 1920 he attacked Kramář few times in feulletons written for the communist mouthpiece Rudé právo.
A spectacular conspiracy theory
Dr. Karl Kramarsch, the real instigator of the world war.
Friedrich Wichtl,1918
As one would expect, Kramář was an unpopular figure amongst the German population of Austria-Hungary. This was particularly true amongst the Germans in Bohemia and Moravia who would have become a minority if the Czech ambitions of state rights were fulfilled. In 1918 the German-National Reichsrat deputy Friedrich Wichtl (1872-1921) published a book where he concluded that "Dr. Karl Kramarsch" was "the real instigator of the world war"[a].
In this perspective it should be noted that Wichtl also was a propagator of the Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory, a central pillar of Nazism (and still floating around today).
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Rozhovořil se o poměru důstojníků k mužstvu, mužstva k šaržím, o přebíhání na frontách k nepříteli a o politických událostech a o tom, že 50 procent českých vojáků je „politisch verdächtig“. „Jawohl, meine Herren, der Kramarsch, Scheiner und Klófatsch.“ Většina důstojníků si přitom myslela, kdy už přestane dědek cancat, ale plukovník Schröder žvanil dál o nových úkolech nových maršbatalionů, o padlých důstojnících pluku, o zeppelinech, španělských jezdcích, o přísaze.
Scheiner
is mentioned in Oberst Schröder's ruminations about the loyalty of the Czechs. This happened as the officers were having an Besprechung about the imminent transfer of the march battalion to the front.
Background
Scheiner
was a Czech lawyer and politician, and long-time leader of Sokol, both the Czech and the international organisation (he founded the latter in 1908). He was also editor-in-chief of their monthly Sokol.
During the war
After the outbreak of war, he was one of the leaders of the Czech resistance movement against Austria-Hungary. On 21 May 1915, he was arrested together with Karel Kramář on suspicion of high treason and espionage[a], but was released at the end of July[b] due to lack of evidence.
Czechoslovakia
After the war, he was, for a period, head of the Czechoslovak armed forces and also inspector general, but for the most part, he dedicated the rest of his life to Sokol.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Rozhovořil se o poměru důstojníků k mužstvu, mužstva k šaržím, o přebíhání na frontách k nepříteli a o politických událostech a o tom, že 50 procent českých vojáků je „politisch verdächtig“. „Jawohl, meine Herren, der Kramarsch, Scheiner und Klófatsch.“ Většina důstojníků si přitom myslela, kdy už přestane dědek cancat, ale plukovník Schröder žvanil dál o nových úkolech nových maršbatalionů, o padlých důstojnících pluku, o zeppelinech, španělských jezdcích, o přísaze.
Klofáč
is mentioned in Oberst Schröder's ruminations about the lack of loyalty among Czech soldiers. This happened as the officers were having a Besprechung about the march battalion's imminent transfer to the front.
Background
Klofáč
was a Czech politician and journalist. He studied philosophy in Prague and worked as a journalist and editor for Národní listy from 1890 to 1899, the main mouthpiece of Mladočeši (Young Czechs). He also wrote for Národní politika. Due to his dissatisfaction with the Young Czechs' alleged conciliatory attitude towards the House of Habsburg monarchy, he founded Česká strana národně sociální in 1898 and was party chairman from 1899 to 1938. Politically, he was a radical Czech nationalist and also a Pan-Slavist with good contacts in Serbia and Russia.
In 1901, he was elected to the Reichsrat for the Smíchov constituency and remained a deputy until the parliament was dissolved in 1918.
He also founded the party mouthpiece České Slovo, which was first published on 1 March 1907 with Jiří Pichl as the first chief editor. Klofáč wrote for the paper regularly and owned the building Zlatá husa (The Golden Goose) on Václavské náměstí that housed the newspaper. He was also listed as publisher of the newspaper.
During the war
Národní politika,5.5.1917
Klofáč was arrested in Vysoké Mýto on 4 September 1914 by state Police Inspectors Slavíček and taken to the garrison prison on Hradčany[b]. He remained interned in Prague until March 1916, when he was transferred to Vienna. He spent almost three years in prison without having been put on trial![c].
Zdeněk Tobolka,1919
Court proceedings against him were finally initiated on 24 May 1917, allegedly at the behest of Emperor Karl I[h]. He and the Croat journalist Rudolf Giunio were accused of high treason, detailed in a massive file of more than 300 pages[d]. The timing was no coincidence, as only a few days later Reichsrat was to convene again after having been suspended since the beginning of the war, and deputies were pleading for Klofáč to be allowed to take part. The trial was scheduled for mid-June[f] but was delayed due to debates in Reichsrat regarding parliamentary immunity.
At the end of June, a war-time law that gave military courts jurisdiction over civilians was suspended, effectively putting a halt to the proceedings of the military judiciary. This was significant because Klofáč was to be tried by Landwehrsdivisionsgericht in Vienna. More important, however, was Emperor Karl I's general amnesty for political prisoners, issued on 2 July. From that date, development accelerated and on 7 July 1917 Klofáč was finally released. He immediately headed for his retreat in Dobříkov by Vysoké Mýto[g] and later spent time recuperating in the spa town of Luhačovice in Moravia.
Post-war
In Czechoslovakia, Klofáč became the new state's first Minister of Defence. He served from 1918 to 1920 and remained in politics, holding a seat in the Senate until 1938.
Hašek and Klofáč
Kopřivy,14.3.1912
Jaroslav Hašek knew Klofáč through their common connection to České Slovo, a paper that Hašek wrote eleven stories for in 1908[a]. Hašek was also employed as a local reporter from December 1911 to the end of February 1912. During this period, he published some stories using his own name and several unsigned news snippets that scholars, with good reason, assume that he wrote. Some of these appear to be mystifications (see the article Fun and Education).
Otherwise, Klofáč is mentioned in several of Hašek's stories; in two, he is even the main character. As one would expect, the politician is a victim of Hašek's sharp pen, and the author of The Good Soldier Švejk also describes how he lost his job at České Slovo and left Česká strana národně sociální.
His departure was caused by an incident where he urged tramway workers to go on strike, going against the party's official stance (at least this was the version he presented himself). Presumably, he also fell out with Klofáč, who he had been socialising with earlier. The incident happened in February 1912, and soon after, Hašek described in humorous terms how he was thrown out of the party[e]. The story was even published in Kopřivy, a satirical weekly owned by the rival Social Democratic Party.
Curiosities
The mentioned Rudolf Giunio, Klofáč's co-defendant of the aborted high treason trial in 1917, was an acquaintance of Jaroslav Hašek! The two celebrated a boisterous New Year's Eve together in 1908, and both spent a night in the arrest at policejní komisařství Salmova ulice after having refused to pay the bill. In August 1909, Hašek served five days in prison for his part in the incident. See Bendlovka for more on this affair.
On 29 November 1911, Klofáč was one of the Reichsrat deputies who filed an interpellation concerning the confiscation of the book The Good Soldier Švejk and other strange stories. More about the case in the article The prewar Švejk.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Rozhovořil se o poměru důstojníků k mužstvu, mužstva k šaržím, o přebíhání na frontách k nepříteli a o politických událostech a o tom, že 50 procent českých vojáků je „politisch verdächtig“. „Jawohl, meine Herren, der Kramarsch, Scheiner und Klófatsch.“ Většina důstojníků si přitom myslela, kdy už přestane dědek cancat, ale plukovník Schröder žvanil dál o nových úkolech nových maršbatalionů, o padlých důstojnících pluku, o zeppelinech, španělských jezdcích, o přísaze.
Zeppelin
is mentioned indirectly through the term "Zeppeliner" (airship). This is in a long speech by Oberst Schröder, alongside the tasks of march battalions, fallen officers, Spanish riders, etc.
Background
Zeppelin
was a German officer, best known for inventing the airship. Born into a wealthy and influential family in Konstanz, he graduated from the war academy in Ludwigsburg. He was present as an observer in the American Civil War and noted how balloons were used in the conflict, which no doubt inspired his later invention.
The first airship flight took place on 2 July 1900 over Lake Constance. Several more Zeppelins were built over the next fourteen years, some for the armed forces.
Zeppelins played a certain role in World War I, and were widely used (by Germany in particular) for bombing and reconnaissance. Eventually, they proved vulnerable due to their large target area. In the inter-war years, they had a renaissance, but the Hindenburg disaster in 1937 effectively marked the end.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Většina důstojníků si přitom myslela, kdy už přestane dědek cancat, ale plukovník Schröder žvanil dál o nových úkolech nových maršbatalionů, o padlých důstojnících pluku, o zeppelinech, španělských jezdcích, o přísaze.
The name Schanzer and similar were almost unheard of in Prague.
Vojtěch Kraus,1910
Světová válka 1914-1915 slovem i obrazem. Díl I.,1915
Šancler
was a military doctor who was sitting in the Offizierskasino in Királyhida, reading aloud from a book about the treatment of the wounded. The theme was Sultan Salah-Edin and the fair treatment of enemy soldiers. Oberleutnant Lukáš was the only person present.
Background
If one sticks to the Hašek spelling, there are no traces of such a person in 1914, neither in Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 nor in the entire k.u.k. Wehrmacht. Nor is the German variant Schanzler to be found. The name is not found in the modern Czech Republic and even internationally. According to a name database, only one person with this surname exists on the planet! The variant Schänzler has a few more hits but still very few.
However, the variant Schanzer was quite widespread and occurs a few times in Schematismus[b]. That said, there is no evidence to suggest that any of them were doctors. The conclusion is that Hašek seems to have picked the name at random, as he repeatedly did throughout The Good Soldier Švejk. See Břetislav Ludvík for more on this topic.
Borrowed text
Hašek borrowed the text of this passage almost verbatim from the series The World War in Words and Images. This follows a pattern, as some fragments of [I.14] are also borrowed from this publication, for example, parts of the conversation between Oberleutnant Lukáš and hop trader Wendler. See Kronika světové války for more on this theme.
Regarding Saladin, the text is from page 168 of the first volume, from an article titled The Red Cross and Treatment of the War Wounded[a]. The context is that the Johannites said that Saladin was the first to recognise the neutrality of the medical corps. The rest of the text that Šancler reads out is reproduced from the same article but has nothing to do with Saladin. It concerns Friedrich of Prussia who, according to the article, on 8 September 1859, made an agreement with France about mutual care of wounded soldiers.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Nadporučík Lukáš seděl ještě zatím v důstojnickém kasině s vojenským lékařem Šanclerem, který sedě obkročmo na židli, tágem bil v pravidelných přestávkách o podlahu a přitom pronášel tyto věty za sebou: „Saracénský sultán Salah-Edin poprvé uznal neutralitu sanitního sboru. Má se pečovat o raněné na obou stranách.
[II.5]Doktor Šancler zlomil přitom již dvě tága a stále ještě nebyl hotov se svým podivným výkladem o péči o raněné ve válce, vplétaje do výkladu neustále cosi o nějakých generálských pasech.
The book of knowledge of ingenious mechanical devices,1354
Ottův slovník naučný,1904
Světová válka 1914-1915 slovem i obrazem. Díl I.,1915
Salah-Edin
was a Saracen sultan who is said to have been the first to decree that the sanitary corps should be neutral. This is among the things that Militärartz Šancler reads aloud to Oberleutnant Lukáš at Offizierskasino.
Background
Salah-Edin
refers to Saladin, sultan of Egypt and Syria and founder of the Ayyubid dynasty (1169) in Egypt and Syria. He was the most important single actor in the victory over the Crusaders. In 1187, he conquered Jerusalem, and the intruders lost their foothold in the Middle East for good.
Saladin was known for his fair treatment of prisoners of war, which has given him a good name in both the Christian and Muslim worlds. This is no doubt the backdrop to Militärartz Šancler and the passage of The Good Soldier Švejk where he features.
Borrowed text
Hašek borrowed the text of this passage almost verbatim from the series The World War in Words and Images. This follows a pattern, as some fragments of [I.14] are also borrowed from this publication, for example, parts of the conversation between Oberleutnant Lukáš and hop trader Wendler. See Kronika světové války for more on this theme.
Regarding Saladin, the text is from page 168 of the first volume, from an article titled The Red Cross and Treatment of the War Wounded[a]. The context is that the Johannites said that Saladin was the first to recognise the neutrality of the medical corps. The rest of the text that Militärartz Šancler reads out is reproduced from the same article but has nothing to do with Saladin. It concerns Friedrich of Prussia who, according to the article, on 8 September 1859, made an agreement with France about mutual care of wounded soldiers.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Nadporučík Lukáš seděl ještě zatím v důstojnickém kasině s vojenským lékařem Šanclerem, který sedě obkročmo na židli, tágem bil v pravidelných přestávkách o podlahu a přitom pronášel tyto věty za sebou: „Saracénskýsultán Salah-Edinpoprvé uznal neutralitu sanitního sboru. Má se pečovat o raněné na obou stranách. Mají se jim zaplatiti léky a ošetřování za náhradu výloh s druhé strany. Má být dovoleno poslat jim lékaře a jejich pomocníky s pasy generálů. Také mají zajatí ranění být posláni zpět pod ochranou a zárukou generálů nebo vyměněni. Ale sloužit mohou potom dál. Nemocní na obou stranách nemají být zajímáni a utraceni, nýbrž dopraveni do bezpečí do špitálů a má být dovoleno ponechati jim stráž, která jako nemocní má se vrátit s pasy generálů. I(To platí i pro polní duchovní, lékaře, chirurgy, lékárníky, ošetřovatele nemocných, pomocníky a pro jiné osoby určené k obsluze nemocných, které nesmějí být zajaty, nýbrž týmž způsobem musí být poslány zpět.“
The identity and origin of the song is not known, and there are few references in periodicals and books from the time. A Czech-German dictionary from the interwar period indicates that Nána is a term for a stupid female (ein dummes Weib)[a], confirmed by Zenny Sadlon's translation of The Good Soldier Švejk into English (2009). Slovnik.cz translates it as bimbo.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Začal hned zprostředka textu písně, jak voják se převleče za holku a jde za svou milou do mlýna, kde ho položí mlynář k dceři, ale předtím volá na mlynářku:
„Panímámo, dej večeři,
ať ta holka povečeří.“
Mlynářka nakrmí podlého chlapa. A potom rodinná tragedie:
Mlynářovic ráno vstali,
na dveřích napsáno měli:
„Vaše dcera Anna Nána
už není poctivá panna.“
Zátka
was employed at the coal gas station at Letná and his task was to light and put out gas lamps. He had a lot of spare time between lighting the lamps and putting them out, and many pubs were found on his route. This could result in early morning utterances like: A cube is all edge and angle, that’s why a cube is angular. This is Švejk's comparison to cook Jurajda's ideas on formation and non-being. See Plynární stanice Letná.
Background
Zátka is a rare name in Prague and none of the few Zátkas listed in the population register or address books have anything to do with the gas station. In modern Czechia the surname is also quite rare[a]. Zátka is probably yet another example of Hašek borrowing a name and assigning it to a literary figure more or less at random.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] „Co se mý osoby týká, pane rechnungsfeldvébl, když jsem to slyšel, co vy jste vo těch outvarech povídal, tak jsem si vzpomněl na nějakýho Zátku, plynárníka; von byl na plynární stanici na Letný a rozsvěcoval a zas zhasínal lampy.
[II.5] A potom,“ řekl Švejk tiše, „to s tím Zátkou po čase skončilo moc špatně. Dal se do Mariánský kongregace, chodil s nebeskýma kozama na kázání pátera Jemelky k svatýmu Ignáci na Karlovo náměstí a zapomenul jednou zhasnout, když byli misionáři na Karláku u svatýho Ignáce, plynový svítilny ve svým rayoně, takže tam hořel po ulicích plyn nepřetržitě po tři dny a noci.
Jemelka
Jemelka was a Catholic priest, preacher, and missionary from Kozlovice near Přerov. After finishing gymnasium (secondary school) in Přerov, he studied at the seminary in Olomouc, where he was ordained on 4 July 1886[a]. Shortly afterwards, he entered the Jesuit order, where he remained active for the rest of his life.
After his ordination, Jemelka continued his studies in Sankt Andrä (Carinthia) and Pressburg. He then worked in Velehrad (Moravia), Prague, Hradec Králové, and finally Vienna.
In the context of The Good Soldier Švejk, his time at kostel svatého Ignáce is of interest, as it is in this context that his name is mentioned in the novel. The period of his stay is unclear, but in the address book for 1896 he is listed as chairman of Mariánská kongregace. A newspaper article reveals that he was still in Prague in June 1900[c].
Jemelka was known for his oratory skills (he had studied rhetoric), travelled widely, and was an eager participant in debates about religion and politics. His uncompromising attitude made him unpopular in many circles. Among other things, he was in conflict with socialists, Volná myšlenka (Free Thought), Machar, and not least Professor Masaryk. In connection with the latter, Jemelka published a small book called Masaryk's Fight for Religion[b]. His stay in Hradec Králové lasted at least from 1903 to 1908, and it was here that the mentioned dispute with Masaryk took place.
Hašek and Jemelka
According to Václav Menger, Hašek was an altar boy in kostel svatého Ignáce when he was about nine years old, i.e. around 1892. Hašek is said to have overheard Jemelka's sermons, and Menger adds that the priest had a very large number of enthusiastic female followers[d]. Inspiration from this period explains why Jemelka is mentioned in The Good Soldier Švejk and also in two of Hašek's writings from before the war. In all three cases, he is only mentioned in passing.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] A potom,“ řekl Švejk tiše, „to s tím Zátkou po čase skončilo moc špatně. Dal se do Mariánský kongregace, chodil s nebeskýma kozama na kázání pátera Jemelky k svatýmu Ignáci na Karlovo náměstí a zapomenul jednou zhasnout, když byli misionáři na Karláku u svatýho Ignáce, plynový svítilny ve svým rayoně, takže tam hořel po ulicích plyn nepřetržitě po tři dny a noci.
Blüher is mentioned 3 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Blüher
was an officer from Švejk's national service, whom Švejk told Rechnungsfeldwebel Vaněk about. The major believed that an officer is the most perfect being on earth, and one of Švejk's comments did not quite fit. It is also revealed that the major had served with Infanterieregiment Nr. 75 some years ago and drank nothing but slivovice.
Background
Blüher was a very rare surname in Austria-Hungary[a], so it is likely that it was randomly assigned to the major in The Good Soldier Švejk. Neither in k.u.k. Heer nor k.k. Landwehr were there any officers with this name between 1871 and 1914. In Prague, not a single person born after 1827 with this name was registered.
In Germany, the name is more common, but even here it is rare. Bernhard Blüher (1864-1938) was mayor of Dresden, but to connect this name to the literary major would be very far-fetched. Another person that Hašek may have known about is the German philosopher Hans Blüher (1888-1955), but again the connection is speculative.
The similar-sounding Blücher was more common, but even that was missing in the k.u.k. Wehrmacht. The name Blücher is associated with the Prussian general Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (1742-1819), who played a key role in the defeat of Napoléon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] To je velmi špatný,“ pokračoval Švejk, „když se najednou člověk začne plést do nějakýho filosofování, to vždycky smrdí delirium tremens. Před léty k nám přeložili od pětasedmdesátejch nějakýho majora Blühera. Ten vždy jednou za měsíc dal si nás zavolat a postavit do čtverce a rozjímal s námi, co je to vojenská vrchnost. Ten nepil nic jiného než slivovici. "Každej oficír, vojáci," vykládal nám na dvoře v kasárnách, "je sám vod sebe nejdokonalejší bytost, která má stokrát tolik rozumu jako vy všichni dohromady".
[II.5] Ty všechny hned poroučel major Blüher vodvádět stranou, že potom vodpůldne budou dělat klenkübunky na dvoře za trest, že nedovedou se vyjádřit, co pociťujou.
[II.5] Všechno se kolem smálo a major Blüher se na mne rozkřik: "Po tobě leda, chlape, lezou štěnice, když chrníš na kavalci. Von si, chlap mizerná, ještě dělá legraci."
Pech is mentioned 6 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Pech
was a soldier from Dolní Bousov. He attended recruit school together with Švejk, and when Leutnant Moc asked him where he was from, he responded with such a long answer about his hometown that Moc took it as sarcasm and slapped him six times, once for each annual market. Pech brought the case to the battalion report, but Major Rohell angrily rejected the complaint and had the soldier locked up.
Background
Pech might have been a fictional character, but his answer was real enough: it is a quote from Ottův slovník naučný, only insignificantly rewritten [a].
This anecdote is an example of how Hašek created situations and characters that he wove into the novel. He "tested" the passages on the guests at U Invalda in Lipnice, where he lived at the time. Depending on the reaction, he could adapt the text. In this case, as mentioned, the basis is taken from Otto's Encyclopedia, but the circumstances are fictionalised. The scene with Pech was said to be very popular at the pub, and several guests made suggestions that Hašek did not follow[b].
There is also a clue as to when this was written. Radko Pytlík mentions "josefská zábava", which is in March. Thus, we can date the creation of this passage to the spring of 1922[a]. Where Pytlík got the information from is unclear.
Radko Pytlík, Toulavé house
Některé vyprávění se na Lipnici ujalo. Nejvíce se líbila komická scéna s rekrutem Pechem, kterého zfackoval lajtnant kvůli "výročním trhům v Dolním Bousově". Poprvé tuto historku Hašek použil při výše uvedené josefské zábavě a musel ji několikrát opakovat. Obecenstvo bylo nadšeno pohotovostí rekruta Pecha, který lajtnantovi odpověděl narychlo vychrleným výčtem fakt. Při anekdotické pointě: "Šest výročních trhů"! se posluchači váleli smíchy. Hašek naznačoval, že Pech bude z blázince propuštěn. Až mu bude předáván řád, dá před přehlížejícím generálem lajtnantovi Mocovi facku. Hajný Soula, častý host u Invaldů, se přimlouval, aby Pech také kopnul pitomého lajtnanta do břicha.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] „Docela dobře řečeno,“ pravil Švejk. „Na to nikdy nezapomenu, jak zavřeli rekruta Pecha. Lajtnant od kumpanie byl nějakej Moc a ten si shromáždil rekruty a ptal se každýho, vodkud je.
,Vy rekruti zelení, zatracení,’ povídá k nim, ,vy se musíte naučit vodpovídat jasně, přesně a jako když bičem mrská. Tak to začnem. Odkud jste, Pechu?’ Pech byl inteligentní člověk a vodpověděl: ,Dolní Bousov, Unter Bautzen, 267 domů, 1936 obyvatelů českých, hejtmanství Jičín, okres Sobotka, bývalé panství Kosť, farní chrám svaté Kateřiny ze 14. století, obnovený hrabětem Václavem Vratislavem Netolickým, škola, pošta, telegraf, stanice české obchodní dráhy, cukrovar, mlýn s pilou, samota Valcha, šest výročních trhů.’ A tu už po něm skočil lajtnant Moc a počal mu sázet jednu po druhý přes hubu a křičel: ,Tu máš jeden výroční trh, tu máš druhej, třetí, čtvrtej, pátej, šestej.’ A Pech, třebas byl rekrut, hlásil se k batalionsraportu. V kancelářích byla tenkrát taková veselá pakáž, tak napsala, že jde k batalionsraportu kvůli výročním trhům v Dolním Bousově. Batalionskomandantem byl major Rohell. ,Also, was gibst?’ otázal se Pecha a ten spustil: ,Poslušně hlásím, pane majore, že v Dolním Bousově je šest výročních trhů.’ Jak na něho major Rohell zařval, zadupal a hned ho dal odvést na magorku do vojenskýho špitálu, vod tý doby byl z Pecha nejhorší voják, samej trest.“
Moc
was a lieutenant who, in one of Švejk's anecdotes, asked all the recruits where they were from. He then ordered Rekrut Pech to be exact in his answer when asked, and duly received a volley of encyclopaedic details about Dolní Bousov.
Background
This person may well have been fictional, but the answer he received was definitely from the real world. See Rekrut Pech.
The name Moc is a common Czech surname, especially in the north and east[a]. Whether Hašek knew or had heard of anyone with this name is difficult to establish. In 1912, there was only a single lieutenant Moc in the entire armed forces. He was Joseph Moc of Traindivision Nr. 11, a unit recruited from the Lemberg corps district[b].
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] „Docela dobře řečeno,“ pravil Švejk. „Na to nikdy nezapomenu, jak zavřeli rekruta Pecha. Lajtnant od kumpanie byl nějakej Moc a ten si shromáždil rekruty a ptal se každýho, vodkud je.
[II.5] A tu už po něm skočil lajtnant Moc a počal mu sázet jednu po druhý přes hubu a křičel: ,Tu máš jeden výroční trh, tu máš druhej, třetí, čtvrtej, pátej, šestej.’
Rohell
was the officer who dealt with Rekrut Pech's complaint after Leutnant Moc had struck him because his answer was too exact. Rohell then had Pech locked up in the asylum at the military hospital.
Background
The name Rohell does not exist in the Czech Republic or anywhere else in Europe today. However, the variant Rohel is quite common, especially in northern Moravia[a]. Neither name is listed in the Schematismus of 1914, so we can rule out that any such major existed. Thus, it is a randomly chosen name that the author may have picked up from a newspaper or similar source. There is a slight chance that he may have read a notice about a Karel Rohell from Ostrava who made the papers in 1914 due to drunken escapades where he even insulted his imperial majesty[b]. However, this hypothesis is weak, despite the fact that Hašek contributed regularly to (Právo lidu) and no doubt read it.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Batalionskomandantem byl major Rohell. ,Also, was gibst?’ otázal se Pecha a ten spustil: ,Poslušně hlásím, pane majore, že v Dolním Bousově je šest výročních trhů.’ Jak na něho major Rohell zařval, zadupal a hned ho dal odvést na magorku do vojenskýho špitálu, vod tý doby byl z Pecha nejhorší voják, samej trest.“
Václav Vratislav Netolický
has not been identified with certainty despite the fact that Hašek picked Rekrut Pech's answer directly from Ottův slovník náučný.
Pech and Otto's encyclopaedia
Recruit Pech's monologue about Dolní Bousov bears striking similarities to this entry in Otto's Encyclopaedia.
Ottův slovník naučný,1891
Rekrut Pech's monologue about where he came from is a near-verbatim quotation from Ottův slovník naučný, as established by literary scholar Antonín Měšťan in 1983[a].
The differences between the text in The Good Soldier Švejk and the encyclopaedia are insignificant, and the factual content is the same[b].
Diese Information, für die der Offizier dem Rekruten Pech sechs Ohrfeigen verabreichte - eine für jeden Jahrmarkt - ist ein nur unwesentlich geändertes Zitat aus dem 4. Band des Ottův slovník naučný. Antonín Měšťan, 1983, Realien und Pseudorealien in Hašek's "Švejk"
There is doubt as to what renovation of kostel svaté Kateřiny actually means in this context. It is known that the church was renovated in 1909, but because Hašek here used a more or less a verbatim quote from Otto's Encyclopaedia from 1891, the 1909 renovation can be ruled out.
Another significant date in the history of the church is 1759 when the current church was built on the site of a wooden church, originally from the 14th century.
It is therefore possible that "renovation" in this case refers to the construction of the new church. The Czech world obnovit may also mean restore, rebuild, reconstruct. If this lead is to be followed, it is necessary to establish who was the lord of Kosť in 1759.
František Václav Vratislav z Mitrovic (1720–1787) (owner of Kosť from 1738)
Antonín Václav Vratislav-Netolický z Mitrovic (1756–1791)
Eugen Vratislav-Netolický z Mitrovic (1786–1867)
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] ,Dolní Bousov, Unter Bautzen, 267 domů, 1936 obyvatelů českých, hejtmanství Jičín, okres Sobotka, bývalé panství Kosť, farní chrám svaté Kateřiny ze 14. století, obnovený hrabětem Václavem Vratislavem Netolickým, škola, pošta, telegraf, stanice české obchodní dráhy, cukrovar, mlýn s pilou, samota Valcha, šest výročních trhů.’
Sylvanus
is mentioned in a story that Rechnungsfeldwebel Vaněk tells Švejk. Sylvanus was a soldier from 8. Marschkompanie who, in civilian life, had been in and out of prison, but proved to be an efficient soldier. However, he was executed after being caught robbing the dead by Dukla.
Background
There is no trace of this surname in literature about Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 or the entire armed forces for that matter. Moreover, Sylvanus and Silvanus are extremely rare surnames, but more common as given names. In Czechia, none of these surnames are found today. The name is of Latin origin, connected to the woods. In medieval Italian folklore, Silvanus was a forest demon and is also the Czech name for the bark beetle[a].
That looting of corpses did happen is well documented, so Hašek has probably read or heard about such cases, but why he would have chosen this rare name is an enigma.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Pamatuji se u osmé maršky na infanteristu Sylvanusa. Ten měl dřív trest za trestem, a jaké tresty. Neostýchal se ukrást kamarádovi poslední krejcar, a když přišel do gefechtu, tak první prostříhal drahthindernissy, zajmul tři chlapy a jednoho hned po cestě odstřelil, že prý mu nedůvěřoval.
Pleschner
was a junior officer involved in the preparations for Abmarsch from Királyhida. He later appears near Budapest, where he gives Kadett Biegler a glass of cognac.
Background
Pleschner is not a name found in documents relating to Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 and appears to have been reused from two of Hašek's short stories. The first, The Greatest Day of Folimanka[a], is set in the green area Folimanka in Vinohrady, bordering Botič and Nusle. In the story, Pleschner is described as the owner of the area.
The second narrative, Twenty Years Ago[b], deals with the riots in December 1897, when Hašek and other perpetrators allegedly set fire to the yard of the German Pleschner in Nusle. There is no doubt that both stories refer to the same Pleschner.
The Badeni riots
The events referred to in the second story[b] took place in late November and early December 1897. The underlying cause was the language reform proposed by the government of Count Kazimierz Feliks Badeni (1846-1909), launched on 5 April 1897. It placed Czech on an equal footing with German as an internal administrative language in Bohemia and Moravia. In effect, all civil servants were expected to master both languages by 1901. This led to vehement protests from the German side. Many Germans did not speak Czech, whereas virtually all Czech officials spoke German. Thus, the Germans feared exclusion from the civil service. During the summer, anti-government and anti-Czech protests occurred, mainly across German Bohemia.
The situation escalated during the autumn, and tumultuous encounters took place in the Reichsrat, including fist-fights. A new rule was introduced by which the speaker could order a deputy to leave the house after three warnings. Sessions in late November slid into complete chaos, and deputies who refused to leave after three warnings were removed by the police. Street protests became violent. For instance, in Saaz (now Žatec), Czech properties were vandalised and set on fire. The Badeni cabinet was forced to resign on the 28th. Provoked by the preceding attacks on Czechs in Žatec and by Germans celebrating the fall of Badeni, Czechs also took to the streets, initially organised by students.
On 1 December 1897, the initially peaceful protests in Prague escalated into riots. Widespread vandalism, looting, and arson targeting German and Jewish property followed. Army units were deployed but were unable to gain control. Order was only restored when martial law was declared. In the story Twenty Years Ago[b], Hašek describes the events quite accurately. He also mentions the scenes in the Reichsrat that preceded the fall of the Badeni cabinet. He touches on the riots in Žatec and other locations in North Bohemia.
Richard Pleschner
Neues Wiener Journal,2.12.1897
Many newspapers reported on 2 December 1897 that, the previous evening, rioters had set fire to the timber yard of the firm Pleschner in Vinohrady. It is this event that Hašek refers to in the story Twenty Years Ago[b], and he even gives the exact date.
Adresář královského hlavního města Prahy a obcí sousedních,1896
One newspaper article mentions the timber yard of R. v. Pleschner[c], and thus he was a nobleman. Another article states that the timber yard of Pleschner was located at the end of Puchmajerova ulice[d]. This, together with data from other sources, confirms that the owner was Richard Pleschner von Eichstett, a member of a well-known noble family. He was born in 1870, worked as a timber merchant, and was also a reserve lieutenant in Infanterieregiment Nr. 28[e]. In 1896, he lived with other family members in a villa at Vinohrady čp. 794 (Koprníkova ulice). He was married to Anna Brdová, who had a son, Emil, from a previous marriage[f].
In 1898, the timber yard was taken over by Karl Kraus[g], and Pleschner eventually moved to Vršovice, where he continued as a merchant, mainly dealing in coal. In 1903, he posted notices in Prague offering a reward of 1000 crowns to anyone who could provide information about the fire at his timber yard[h].
Between 1908 and 1913, his name appears in Svět zvířat in connection with pigeon breeding; he was still residing in Vršovice. In 1904, he was listed as a reserve lieutenant in k.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 11, and during World War I he served as a reserve officer with the rank of Oberleutnant. His later fate is unknown.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Co má dnes s manšaftem dělat fähnrich Pleschner? Vorbereitung zum Abmarsch. Účty? Přijdu podepsat po mináži. Nikoho nepouštějte do města. Do kantiny v lágru? Po mináži na hodinu... Zavolejte sem Švejka!
[III.1] Kadet Biegler neřekl více ani slova a zalezl si do svého kouta. Když později k němu přišel fähnrich Pleschner, aby mu dal připít z láhve koňaku, kterou vyhrál v kartách, podivil se, jak kadet Biegler pilně čte v knize profesora Udo Krafta „Sebevýchova k smrti za císaře“.
Teveles is mentioned 4 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Teveles
was a Zugsführer who was locked up in Királyhida after being caught with a war medal he had bought and with one-year volunteer stripes he had sewn on himself. This allegedly happened during the retreat from Belgrade on 2 December 1914. He was thrown into the cell with Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek at the Hauptwache after being sent there from the Divisionsgericht.
Background
The surname itself is not very common today, but it was widespread during Hašek's time, especially the variant Teweles. In fact, a Rudolf Teweles served in Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 from 1915. Little is known about him other than that he had Heimatrecht in Prague, was called up in 1915, and was wounded by Monfalcone on 8 February 1916. He was a regular reserve infantryman[b]. The only Rudolf Teweles from Prague that we have succeeded in tracing was born in 1900 and thus too young to have been called up in 1915.
Grazer Volksblatt,9.4.1914
In 1913 and 1914, newspapers in Austria mention a Rudolf Teweles who may actually be identical to the wounded soldier from Infanterieregiment Nr. 91. Teweles had pretended to be a photographer and had collected money from customers in advance without ever delivering. It is stated that he was born in 1887 in Vienna and had Heimatrecht in Prague[c]. Thus, both name and surname fit, and so does the right of domicile. A connection to the figure in The Good Soldier Švejk is the fact that both the real Teweles and the literary Teveles were fraudsters. It is thus possible that Hašek may have met Rudolf Teweles in 1915, perhaps precisely in Királyhida. In late 1914, it was noted that a fraud investigation against the travelling salesman Rudolf Teweles had been stopped. The firm Stein und Sohn had accused him of fraud, but despite the name and the fraud connection, it would be premature to conclude that it is the same person[d].
Fake service ranks
A story with certain parallels to the Teveles affair appeared in the newspapers in 1915. The 21-year-old Johann Schuh had falsely pretended to be a Korporal and had also acquired a war medal that was not his[a].
Heinrich Teweles
Heinrich Teweles may have had his name mis-appropriated.
Given the uncertainty, one should also consider the possibility that Hašek borrowed the name from a person he knew or knew about, as he did with, for instance, the unfortunate Břetislav Ludvík.
Teweles was a well-known surname in Prague and Heinrich Teweles (1856-1927) was the director of the German theatre in the city in 1914, and from 1900 to 1910 he had been editor-in-chief of Prager Tagblatt. This is a person Hašek certainly knew about (and perhaps knew personally) and could have borrowed the name from. Teweles, as a prominent Austro-patriotic Jew, would have been particularly exposed to Hašek's ridicule.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] S jednoročním dobrovolníkem Markem dodán byl současně na hauptvachu od divizijního soudu falešný četař Teveles, který se nedávno objevil u regimentu, kam byl poslán z nemocnice v Záhřebě. Měl velkou stříbrnou medalii, odznaky jednoročního dobrovolníka a tři hvězdičky. Vyprávěl o hrdinských činech 6. maršové roty na Srbsku a že zbyl z ní jen sám. Vyšetřováním bylo zjištěno, že s 6. marškou na začátku války odešel skutečně nějaký Teveles, který však neměl práva jednoročního dobrovolníka. Vyžádána byla zpráva od brigády, ku které byla 6. marška přikomandýrována, když 2. prosince 1914 se utíkalo z Bělehradu, a zjištěno, že v seznamu navržených nebo vyznamenaných stříbrnými medaliemi není žádný Teveles. Byl-li však pěšák Televes povýšen v bělehradské válečné kampani za četaře, nedalo se naprosto zjistit, poněvadž celá 6. marškumpanie se ztratila u cerkve sv. Sávy v Bělěhradě i se svými důstojníky. U divizijního soudu hájil se Teveles tím, že opravdu mu byla slíbena velká stříbrná medalie a že si ji proto v nemocnici koupil od jednoho Bosňáka.
Zwiebelfisch is mentioned 3 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Zwiebelfisch
was a typist/writer at Regimentskanzlei Bruck a.d. Leitha who allowed a tomcat to enter the office. The cat then found it appropriate to relieve himself on the map of the battlefield. For the short-sighted Oberst Schröder, this ended in calamity as, in his eagerness to explain the situation at the front, he put his finger in the heap.
Background
Zwiebelfisch (onion fish) can be safely added to the list of invented surnames in The Good Soldier Švejk. Other examples are Sondernummer, Busenthal, and Botzenheim. The original meaning of the term seems to be "fish of low quality".
Typography
The word itself, however, has another and more common meaning in German. In Hašek's time, it was a well-known term for a misprint, specifically the mixing up of letters or typefaces. In Munich, a typographic magazine titled Zwiebelfisch was published from 1909[a].
It is likely that the journalist Hašek was familiar with both the term and the magazine. Thus, he probably found it appropriate to assign this name to an inexperienced secretary at Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 in Bruck an der Leitha, a person who would have been quite capable of a typo or two.
The tomcat and the emperor
Čechoslovan,17.7.1916
Betreffend: Hochverräterische Umtriebe von österr. Čechen im Auslande,1917
In this sequence of The Good Soldier Švejk, Hašek re-uses a motif he had already introduced in 1916. In the story The Story of the Picture of Emperor Franz Josef I.[b], it is the emperor himself who is subjected to the misdeeds of a tomcat. It described the owner of a paper shop, Mr. Petiška from Mladá Boleslav, who traded pictures of the emperor in Jewish liquor shops and also eagerly hoisted the flag on official state holidays. Unfortunately, a tomcat emptied his bladder on the pictures, making them unsellable.
The story was picked up by the Austrian intelligence services and led to an investigation in absentia of the author for high treason (Hochverrat) and defamation of His Imperial Majesty (Majestätsbeleidigung). The case was jointly investigated by c.k. policejní ředitelství and the k.u.k. Divisionsgericht in Vienna.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Výslech byl krátký. Zjistilo se, že kocoura před čtrnácti dny přitáhl do kanceláře nejmladší písař Zwieblfisch. Po tomto zjištění sebral Zwiebelfisch svých pět švestek a starší písař ho odvedl na hauptvachu, kde bude tak dlouho sedět, až do dalšího rozkazu pana plukovníka.
[II.5] A tak zůstali dál jednoroční dobrovolník i Teveles pod stráží na hauptvaše, a když později k nim přibyl Zwiebelfisch, mohli si zahrát mariáš a po mariáši obtěžovat své strážce žádostí, aby jim vychytali blechy na slamníku.
Peroutka is a common Czech surname, but in the recruitment district of Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 it was relatively rare[a]. There are no entries in the Verlustliste for IR. 91, so it is difficult to find a real person who could have been the inspiration for this character.
A historian
There are many people named Peroutka whom Hašek may have encountered personally or heard about. Among them is the philologist and history professor dr. Emanuel Peroutka (1860 - 1912). He was a specialist in ancient history, a field in which Hašek had great interest, as expressed several times in The Good Soldier Švejk, especially in the introduction. Peroutka lived in Vinohrady, an area where Hašek lived for some years.
Others
There are several other people with the name Peroutka who may have been known to Hašek, but it is difficult to say anything for sure about this. In Svět zvířat, the name only appears in adverts and short reports, probably not enough for Hašek to have taken notice of it. In the Legions, there are as many as 28 Peroutkas listed and some of these may have been known to Hašek even though none of them were from Prague. In Čechoslovan, the name Peroutka also appears often but never in material that can be linked to the author of The Good Soldier Švejk.
Blood-soaked novels
Hašek probably borrowed the name from someone he knew from civilian life, and the fact that he made a Peroutka the main character in one of his stories in 1912 strongly points in that direction[c]. In this story, it is not about a soldier but rather the narrator's neighbour. This Peroutka writes blood-soaked novels, taking the names of his characters from people in the vicinity.
Conclusion
As in the case of Fähnrich Pleschner, the name Peroutka is almost certainly borrowed from someone Hašek knew, but unlike the former case, it has not been possible to identify any specific person.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Potom tam ještě k nim strčili frajtra Peroutku od 13. marškumpanie, který, když se včera rozšířila pověst po lágru, že se jede na posici, se ztratil a byl ráno patrolou objeven „U bílé růže“ v Brucku. Vymlouval se, že chtěl před odjezdem prohlédnout známý skleník hraběte Harracha u Brucku a na zpáteční cestě že zabloudil, a teprve ráno celý unavený že dorazil k „Bílé růži“. (Zatím spal s Růženkou od „Bílé růže“.)
Růženka
was a barmaid at Zur weißen Rose in Bruck, whom Gefreiter Peroutka had slept with the night before he was caught after trying to avoid departure to the front.
Background
Růženka is a character who seems to be inspired by a real person. According to Bohumil Vlček, a Růženka worked at a bar that was popular among Czech soldiers. The bar was reportedly called U růže (Zur Rose/At the Rose) and was located in Bruck[a]. It is also possible that Hašek used this Růženka as inspiration for another literary barmaid. See waitress Růženka.
Bohumil Vlček
V lágru nás nic nepoutalo, proto po zaměstnáni navštěvovali jsme v Mostě hostinec u "Růže" kde nás obsluhovala naše česká číšnice Růženka (jak v románě též o tom zmínka).
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Potom tam ještě k nim strčili frajtra Peroutku od 13. marškumpanie, který, když se včera rozšířila pověst po lágru, že se jede na posici, se ztratil a byl ráno patrolou objeven „U bílé růže“ v Brucku. Vymlouval se, že chtěl před odjezdem prohlédnout známý skleník hraběte Harracha u Brucku a na zpáteční cestě že zabloudil, a teprve ráno celý unavený že dorazil k „Bílé růži“. (Zatím spal s Růženkou od „Bílé růže“.)
Graf Harrach
is mentioned in connection with Gefreiter Peroutka who, according to his own account, left the camp in Királyhida to have a look at the count's well-known greenhouse near Bruck.
Background
Graf Harrach
no doubt refers to Otto von Harrach, a count of the Czech-Austrian noble family Harrach and owner of Schloss Prugg in Bruck an der Leitha. He was the son of the Czech politician Johann Nepomuk von Harrach. In addition to being a large estate owner, he was a significant industrialist, primarily in the glass manufacturing industry.
During World War I, he and his wife Karoline ran a hospital at the palace in Bruck. In 1917, he is listed as a resident of Vienna[a].
After the war, he took Czechoslovak citizenship and settled on his estate in Jilemnice, where he lived until his death in 1935.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Potom tam ještě k nim strčili frajtra Peroutku od 13. marškumpanie, který, když se včera rozšířila pověst po lágru, že se jede na posici, se ztratil a byl ráno patrolou objeven „U bílé růže“ v Brucku. Vymlouval se, že chtěl před odjezdem prohlédnout známý skleníkhraběte Harracha u Brucku a na zpáteční cestě že zabloudil, a teprve ráno celý unavený že dorazil k „Bílé růži“. (Zatím spal s Růženkou od „Bílé růže“.)
Havlík is a relatively common Czech surname[a], and in the Verlustliste for Infanterieregiment Nr. 91, three people with this surname are listed. One of these, Josef Havlík, was captured during the battle of Sokal on 27 September 1915[b], and could theoretically have been known to Jaroslav Hašek. However, he was not a Korporal, and it is not known which company he belonged to, or whether he served with Hašek in Királyhida in June 1915.
Josef Havlík was conscripted in 1905, born in 1884, with Heimatrecht in Německý Benešov (Deutsch Beneschau)[c]. The town is located near the Austrian border and was renamed Benešov nad Černou in 1946.
Despite the matching surnames, it must still be assumed that the name of the literary figure was chosen at random.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Tento optimistický názor nesdílela 13. marškumpačka, která telefonovala, že právě se vrátil kaprál Havlík z města a slyšel od jednoho železničního zřízence, že už vozy jsou na stanici.
Josef Novotný
was from Dražov and appears in an anecdote by Švejk, who states that Josef shot his wife. See Eduard Doubrava.
Background
As Novotný is one of the most common Czech surnames[a], it would be difficult to identify a specific person who may have inspired this sequence in The Good Soldier Švejk.
A family named Novotný actually lived in Dražov in 1910, and one of them was Josef! He was born on 16 February 1891, the son of Matěj and Kateřina, and lived at Dražov čp. 7[b]. Whether Hašek knew or was aware of this person is, however, a matter of speculation.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] "Jednou jsem jel z Vysočan elektrikou do Prahy a v Libni k nám přised nějakej pan Novotný.
[II.5] Tak jsem mu ještě řekl, bližší podrobnosti, že v Dražově byli dva Novotní, Tonda a Josef. On že je ten Josef, že mně psali o něm z Dražova, že postřelil svou ženu, když ho kárala z pití.
[II.5] A tu se vám von rozpřáh, já jsem se uhnul a on rozbil tabuli na přední plošině, tu velkou před řidičem. Tak nás vysadili, vodvedli a na komisařství se ukázalo, že byl proto tak nedůtklivý, poněvadž vůbec se nejmenoval Josef Novotný, ale Eduard Doubrava a byl z Montgomery v Americe a zde byl navštívit příbuzný, ze kterých pocházela jeho rodina.“
In this anecdote, Švejk reveals that he is from one of these places and also mentions the names of his parents (Prokop Švejk and Antonie Švejková).
Background
Doubrava is a common Czech surname, and it is known that some individuals with this surname emigrated to the United States over the years. One was Eduard Doubrava, who in 1878 fell victim to a scam in Hamburg and arrived in the United States with counterfeit dollar notes[a]. It is unlikely that this person inspired the literary character in The Good Soldier Švejk, as the incident occurred five years before Hašek was born.
Another Doubrava shot his wife in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, in 1911. This was reported in Czech newspapers in the United States, but it seems to have escaped the attention of the press in Bohemia and Moravia. This case bears a slight similarity to Švejk's anecdote – a certain Josef Doubrava did indeed shoot his wife[b].
However, it would be far-fetched to suggest that any of these incidents inspired the good soldier's anecdote in The Good Soldier Švejk.
The surname Doubrava was used by Hašek in a story he wrote for Karikatury before the war[c], and he also used the name as a pseudonym in another[d]. There is, however, no connection with the character Doubrava in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] A tu se vám von rozpřáh, já jsem se uhnul a on rozbil tabuli na přední plošině, tu velkou před řidičem. Tak nás vysadili, vodvedli a na komisařství se ukázalo, že byl proto tak nedůtklivý, poněvadž vůbec se nejmenoval Josef Novotný, ale Eduard Doubrava a byl z Montgomery v Americe a zde byl navštívit příbuzný, ze kterých pocházela jeho rodina.“
Biegler is mentioned 157 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Biegler
is a cadet in 11. Marschkompanie and plays an important part at the start of Part Three. He is, alongside Leutnant Dub, the main target of Hašek's ridicule of upwardly mobile monarchists in the k.u.k. Heer. The author initially describes him as "the biggest idiot in the entire company" and notes that he had a pale appearance.
Biegler had studied military history diligently and was keen to show off his knowledge, which raised contempt and laughter among his officer colleagues. He also boasted about his blue-blood pedigree, whereas the author reveals that his father was an honest trader in furs and skins. It is also revealed that Biegler was from Budějovice.
Biegler takes centre stage on the train between Moson and Győr, where he discovers the error in which the mixed-up books by Ludwig Ganghofer render the company's cipher key worthless, thus embarrassing Hauptmann Ságner in front of his fellow officers. His joy is short-lived, however; Ságner puts him severely in his place, and Biegler drowns the humiliation in a concoction of cognac and cream rolls that his mother had sent him. The awful outcome is that he soils himself so thoroughly during his journey to Budapest that he ends up in a cholera clinic in Újbuda, and from there he is dispatched to Tarnov for recuperation.
He then leaves the story, only to reappear towards the end of the novel. There he is partially redeemed in the eyes of the reader as he silences the even more idiotic Leutnant Dub.
[II.5] Ve dveřích se objevil celý bledý kadet Biegler, největší blbec u kumpanie, poněvadž v jednoročácké škole se snažil vyniknout svými vědomostmi. Kývl Vaňkovi, aby za ním vyšel na chodbu, kde s ním měl dlouhou rozmluvu.
Adresář královského hlavního města Prahy a obcí sousedních,1910
Žlábek
was a soldier whom Kadett Biegler wanted to tie up as punishment for having cleaned his rifle with petroleum.
Background
Žlábek is a rare surname found mainly in Vodňany and the surrounding area[a]. In the recruitment area for Infanterieregiment Nr. 91, it is very rare and no one with this name is listed in the Verlustliste or other documents concerning the regiment.
If Hašek borrowed the name from someone he knew, it was probably from Prague, where several people with this name lived. In any case, it is unlikely to be anything more than a borrowing of the name.
František V. Žlábek[b] was a prominent person Hašek may have been aware of, but there is no evidence that he "degraded" the professor to a soldier in Infanterieregiment Nr. 91.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] „Je to kus vola,“ řekl k Švejkovi, „tady u naší maršky máme ale exempláře. Byl taky u bešprechungu, a když se rozcházeli, tak nařídil pan obrlajtnant, aby všichni zugskomandanti udělali kvervisitu a aby byli přísní. A teď se mne přijde zeptat, jestli má dát uvázat Žlábka, poněvadž ten si vypucoval kvér petrolejem.“
Adresář královského hlavního města Prahy a obcí sousedních,1910
Šic is mentioned 3 times in The Good Soldier Švejk.
Šic
was a pious man from Poříčí who served with Švejk during manoeuvres in Mníšek, Hořovice and the Prácheňsko region. While drunk, Šic removed a statue of Jan Nepomucký from a roadside shrine and kept it for good luck.
Background
Šic is a rare surname, and in 2017 only 14 people with this name lived in Prague[a]. It is also not certain what Švejk meant by "poříckej" since many places are called Poříčí. Most likely, it refers to the loosely defined area Poříčí in Prague II.
In 1910, there was indeed a person in the area with a surname phonetically matching "Šic". He was August Schitz (born 1848), a former merchant[b] who lived at various addresses in the area over the years[c]. Still, it is a stretch to suggest that this man lent his name to the soldier in Švejk's anecdote.
Quote(s) from the novel
[II.5] Sloužil se mnou nějakej poříckejŠic, hodnej člověk, ale nábožnej a bojácnej. Ten si představoval, že manévry jsou něco hroznýho, že lidi na nich padají žízní a saniteráci že to sbírají jako padavky na marši. Proto pil do zásoby, a když jsme vyrazili na manévry z kasáren a přišli k Mníšku, tak říkal: ,Já to, hoši, nevydržím, mě může zachránit jen sám pán bůh.’
[II.5] Tak ten Šic proved tohle: Když jsme lágrovali, sebral se a šel si něco koupit do nějaký vesnice za Hořovicema a vracel se k polednímu do lágru.
[II.5] A milej Šic z lítostí nad sv. Janem z Nepomuku rozbil sklo, vytáhl sošku svatýho a strčil si ji pod bluzu a vodnes do lágru.
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